Behind Her Scars
by Mermar1218
Summary: Set during HBP. Follows story line partly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione meet a mysterious new student on the Hogwarts express. She has a story behind her scars, but she won't tell anyone just quite what it is. First fanfic! Please review.
1. Platform Nine and Three Quarters

Dsclaimer: I own Harry Potter. Yeah, right. Only in my wildest dreams.

* * *

Harry Potter stepped through Platform 9 ¾ with his two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. The familiar sight of the scarlet Hogwarts Express belching steam above the crowd of students and parents comforted him as he was greeted by his friends.

"Hello, Harry," Luna Lovegood said as she floated by. "How was your summer?"

"Fine, Luna, thank you," Harry said with a half-hearted smile. "And yours?"

"My father and I went on an expedition to look for Blue-Bellied Nargles," she said.

Ron had difficulty suppressing a snort. Hermione thumped the back of his head and asked, "Did you find any?"

"Oh, no," Luna said dreamily, "but they often disguise themselves as Blibbering Nudders, so I'm not surprised."

At that point Hermione hastily pulled a shaking Ron away from the group, saying, "Well, we've got to get the prefect's compartment, isn't that right, Ronald?"

"I had better get going, Luna," Harry said. "See you later!"

"Bye, Harry," Luna said absently, drifting away.

Harry pulled his trunk onto the train, looking for an empty compartment while students ogled at him. 'Well, at least people now believe me about Voldemort,' he thought. He came to the end of the train, where he reached a compartment that was nearly empty. There was only one girl inside. Harry was pretty sure he had never seen her before. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, with pretty reddish-brown hair. She was sitting facing towards the window, away from him. Harry entered the compartment.

"Er, hi," he said nervously flattening his hair. She turned towards him and Harry found himself staring at one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever seen. She had the most amazing pair of blue-green eyes. They were a stunning color and were framed by thick, long lashes. She had a slender body that was curvy in all the right places and Harry couldn't help but stare at her long, exposed legs covered by tan, smooth skin. He momentarily lost track of what he was about to say and stared at her until she furrowed her brow in confusion and cleared her throat.

"Yes?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry shook his head and remembered why he came in here. "Er, everywhere else is full. Is it alright if I sit in here with you?"

"Of course," the girl said, her face breaking into a smile, exposing perfectly straight, even white teeth. She stood up and held at her hand. "Hi, I'm Adele."

"Harry," he said, shaking her hand. Her hand was soft and smooth, but Harry glimpsed ugly reddish scars extending down her forearm and ending on the back of her hand before she shook down her sleeve.

"Uh, is this your first year at Hogwarts?" Harry asked. He had noticed an American accent when Adele had introduced herself.

"Oh, yes!" Adele said. "I transferred from a school in the United States. I'm going into my sixth year."

"Me too," Harry said. There was a slightly uncomfortable silence until Harry asked, "So why did you transfer?"

"My parents moved here for their jobs. They work at the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects," Adele said, laughing at the mouthful.

"Really?" Harry said, "Do you know an Arthur Weasley? He's the head of the division."

"Yeah, he's my mom and dad's boss. He seems like a nice guy. I love his hair!" Adele laughed.

Harry laughed as well before telling her about his relationship with the Weasleys. He told her about Ron as well as Hermione, mentioning that they would be coming in soon. From there, the talk somehow turned to Quidditch, when Harry was floored to learn that Adele was a Chaser for her school team in America. They discussed all ranges of things, from differences between England and the States to classes at Hogwarts. Adele was very easy to talk to and Harry felt that they could become friends, given the chance. He was, however, mystified about her life back home. She had changed the subject when he had brought it up, and Harry didn't want to push, having just met her. Adele was just asking about the library at Hogwarts (Harry suspected her and Hermione would get along just fine) when Ron and Hermione herself walked into the compartment.

"There you are, Harry!" Hermione said exasperatedly, "You had to pick the very end of the train, didn't you?"

"Hey mate, has the lunch trolley come — bloody hell!" Ron said suddenly, his eyes falling on Adele. She blushed but didn't look away from Ron.

"Hello, you must be Ron," she said, holding out her hand. When Ron didn't do anything except stare at her she turned to Hermione. "And you must be Hermione, right?"

Hermione looked at Adele with a confused expression. "Yes, and you are…?" she asked pointedly.

"Oh! I'm Adele. I just transferred from a wizarding school in the United States." Hermione regained her composure and shook Adele's offered hand.

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said politely. They both turned to Ron and saw he was still standing there, staring at Adele.

"Oh, honestly, Ronald!" Hermione said, shaking his arm.

Ron recovered with a start and puffed out his chest. "I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, Adele," he said in a deeper voice than usual.

Adele and Harry barely contained their laughter while Hermione rolled her eyes. "Likewise," Adele said with a poorly concealed grin.

They all sat down and Hermione began questioning Adele about her old school in the States. Ron turned to Harry with wide eyes and mouthed, "Whoa!" Harry grinned at him and nodded. They turned to the girls' conversation.

"What was the curriculum like?" Hermione asked.

"It was much the same as the one at Hogwarts," Adele replied. "We had Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Astronomy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, History of Magic, and Flying."

Harry noticed that one class in particular was missing. "What about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked.

"No, we didn't have any class like that," she responded.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all exchanged glances. They couldn't imagine a school without D.A.D.A. Harry supposed they didn't need it in America; the war against Voldemort had not affected them. 'Yet,' he thought.

"Wait," Ron said, "One of your courses is Flying?"

"Oh, yes, that one's my favorite," Adele said happily.

"What kind of broom do you have?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Well," she said slowly, "I'm not sure if you have it in England yet. It's called a Windracer."

Neither Harry nor Ron recognized the name. But to their utter shock, Hermione gasped, "But that's not even released in America yet! It's just a prototype!"

Harry and Ron stared at Hermione, flabbergasted.

"What?" Hermione snapped. "I read international newspapers. The Windracer is supposed to be the fastest broom in the world. But it's not coming out for another eight months!"

All three shifted their gazes to Adele, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"My brother designed it," she said, shrugging. "And you might want to close your mouth before you catch something in it," she advised Harry and Ron.

Then, a new voice laughed derisively. "Yes, Potty and Weaselbee. Close your mouth before you look stupid. Oh wait, what am I saying? You don't even have enough brains to know they're open!"

Adele was not surprised to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione turn to the newcomers and start glowering at them. The new arrivals, one slim, blonde boy and two huge brutes behind him, did not seem like nice people. In fact, she could feel hackles rise inside her and she felt like growling at them menacingly. 'Calm down, Adele!' she warned herself. 'You don't need that happening again!'

The blonde boy turned to Adele. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and this is Crabbe and Goyle," he said, nodding his head to the mountains behind him. "You don't need to be sitting with these losers. Come join us in our compartment."

Adele looked at him warily before saying, "Thank you, but I'm fine right here."

Draco snorted in disbelief. "You would rather sit with the Chosen One, his flunky, and Miss Know-It-All?"

"Um, yeah," she said bluntly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry and Ron stand up and take out their wands.

"She said she wanted to stay, Malfoy," Harry spit at him. Adele didn't think this was going to end well. She surreptitiously pulled out her wand and whispered a few spells. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle found themselves being shunted into the hallway as the compartment door slammed shut and locked in their faces. Crabbe and Goyle looked around perplexedly while Draco stared at Adele before slinking off.

All four in the compartment burst into laughter. "That was brilliant, 'Mione!" Ron said.

"That wasn't me, Ronald. That was Adele," Hermione said.

"Well, you've certainly cottoned on quickly, then," Harry said to Adele. "Those are some of the worst blokes in the castle. Don't let them ruin Hogwarts for you."

"Bloody Slytherins," Ron muttered.

"Slytherins?" Adele asked.

"There are four Houses at Hogwarts: Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor," Hermione began, getting into her teaching mode.

Harry and Ron tuned her out as she began lecturing. Adele listened attentively, hoping fervently that she was sorted into the same House as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

* * *

Please read and review. Constructive criticism appreciated!


	2. The Sorting Hat

Disclaimer: Thank you, J.K. Rowling. I wish I were you.

* * *

"How much longer until we reach Hogwarts?" Adele asked no one in particular. The compartment had been silent for a few minutes now.

"About half an hour or so," Hermione answered, glancing at her watch. "Oh! I should probably go get Crookshanks. Luna said she would watch him while I was at the prefect's meeting." She hurriedly left the compartment and started heading up the train.

"Crookshanks?" Adele asked. Harry thought he could detect a slightly nervous note in her voice.

"Yeah, Hermione's bloody cat," Ron said. "He's completely bonkers."

Adele paled noticeably. She had known that there would be owls, cats, and toads at Hogwarts, but she didn't think she would meet any of them so soon. Harry watched with interest as Adele's face tightened. She looked scared.

After a few minutes, Hermione returned with an enormous ginger cat in her arms. The second they entered the compartment, Crookshanks launched out of Hermione's arms into Adele's lap. He started purring contentedly as Adele scratched his ears. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at her.

"What?" Adele said defensively. "Animals like me."

There was a silence until Hermione cleared her throat and laughed nervously. "I've never seen Crookshanks take to anyone like that before except —." At that point Harry threw Hermione a warning glance. She was about to say Sirius.

"Except who?" Adele asked.

"Just my godfather," Harry said guardedly.

Adele could tell there was more to the story but decided not to press for details. She doubted this man had the same powers as she did.

They were distracted as the train came to a halt.

"Ooh, we're here!" Hermione exclaimed. "Ron, come on! We have to direct the first years."

"Yeah, yeah," Ron said disinterestedly. "Wouldn't want them getting lost, now would we?"

Hermione, pulling Ron, rushed out of the compartment and onto the platform. Adele followed Harry at a slower pace as he left his trunk on the train and made his way to the platform.

"I guess I go with the new students, then?" Adele squeaked, her statement turning into a question because of her nervousness.

"Don't worry about the Sorting," Harry advised. "It will be over before you know it. We will be waiting for you at the Gryffindor table."

Adele instantly felt better. Harry thought they were going to be in the same House, at least. Harry squeezed her hand for good luck as they separated. Adele made her way over to an absolutely enormous man who was shouting, "Firs' years over here!" As she was directed to a fleet of boats that she assumed would cross the lake to the castle, she heard the man shout, "All righ' Harry?"

"Yeah Hagrid!" Harry answered with a grin and a wave.

Adele found herself sitting in a boat with three eleven year olds, two boys and a girl. They all looked nervous, and the boys were staring at her with wide eyes. The girl looked more like she was glaring.

"Um, hi," Adele said as the boats glided across the lake. "I'm Adele. Are you going to be first years?"

"Yeah," one of the boys said. "I'm William and this is Ethan and Claire. What year are you in?"

"Sixth," was the reply.

They all fell silent. In fact, no one said a word until Hagrid yelled, "Heads down!" as they approached a curtain of ivy that covered an opening in the cliff upon which Hogwarts stood. They all ducked, Adele the most, and they found themselves being carried through a dark tunnel into an underground harbor. The first years and Adele exited the boat and were taken to what Adele thought was an entrance hall in the castle. There, they were greeted by a stern-looking witch with her hair pulled tightly back in a bun.

"Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts," the witch said in a crisp voice. "I am Professor McGonagall. In just a moment, you will be sorted into one of four Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin…"

Adele tuned Professor McGonagall out as she said the same things Hermione had already explained on the train. Adele looked around the hall. It was huge, with a flagged stone floor and torches lighting the walls. She saw paintings with their occupants whispering to each other, which was no surprise, because she had had them at her old school. Then, Ethan poked her in the back. Adele started and then saw that they were following Professor McGonagall into the Great Hall. Adele got in the back of the line and was the last person to enter the Great Hall.

It was a huge room, with four long tables running down the room and candles floating above them. There was a fifth table across the front of the room, which Adele saw seated the professors. Her eyes met the gaze of an old wizard with a long white beard and piercing blue eyes. 'Professor Dumbledore,' she thought automatically. He had sent her the Hogwarts letter after the debacle at her old school. He winked at her and Adele smiled. As they made their way to the front of the room, Adele saw that the entire male population was staring at her. She didn't think of it as flattery. She was a head and shoulders taller than all the other first years. Why wouldn't they stare?

Hermione, sitting at the Gryffindor table, saw all the boys staring at Adele as well. She rolled her eyes as some of the smaller ones half stood up for a better look. 'Oh, honestly!' Hermione thought. 'You would think they had never seen a girl before!'

Hermione watched Adele and saw that she was looking around the hall with a slightly overwhelmed look in her eye. She remembered her first year at Hogwarts, entering the Great Hall and seeing how huge and blatantly magical it was, with the enchanted ceiling and ghosts dotting the room.

Adele was so mesmerized by the room that she started again when the students burst into thunderous applause. While she had been studying some of the people in the Hall, a dirty, old, patched hat had been singing. Yes, singing.

Professor McGonagall came to stand beside the hat and unrolled a long parchment. "When I call your name, put on the hat and sit down on the stool to be sorted," she said.

"Avery, Ethan!"

Ethan, who was standing in front of her, stumbled to the stool. He put on the Sorting Hat and sat down. A couple seconds later, a rip near the brim opened and the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

The second table to the left burst into applause. Ethan tripped dazedly over and sat down next to two older students.

"Bartlett, Jayme!" A small girl with a blonde ponytail left the line.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The list went on and on. Adele got extremely nervous as Professor McGonagall passed her name alphabetically. She guessed that she would be called last, because she was the only student not going into first year. Her guess turned out to be correct.

At long last, her name was called.

"Evans, Adele!"

She slowly made her way to the stool. At the Gryffindor table, she saw Harry sitting with Ron and Hermione. He was giving her a confused look and Hermione was whispering in his ear. Adele sat down and pulled the Sorting Hat over her head.

* * *

Please read and review. Constructive criticism appreciated! I won't upload the next chapter until I get at least 5 reviews. Thank you!


	3. To the Headmaster's Office

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If you believed that I did…wow. You need some help.

* * *

Okay, I lied. I'm uploading a new chapter before getting five reviews. But I don't think anyone really minds.

* * *

"My, my," the Sorting Hat drawled. "You are quite the difficult one."

'What does it mean by that?' Adele thought. To her shock, the Hat answered.

"Well, you have certain, ahem, _qualities_, that would fit into each House. You have the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, obviously, but the cunning and subtlety of a Slytherin. You have the loyalty and fairness of a Hufflepuff, but the courage and bravery of a Gryffindor."

'Please,' Adele thought to the Hat. 'I want to be in Gryffindor with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.'

"You do, do you?" the Hat said. "I believe you can make friends wherever you are sorted."

'I hope so,' Adele thought. 'But they seem like the kind of people I would want to watch my back.'

"Yes," the Sorting admitted. "They certainly are loyal. But I'm still not convinced. There's that certain power of yours that sets you apart from the rest."

'You can see that?!' Adele cried in her mind.

"Of course," the rather annoying Hat replied easily. The Hat fell silent as it debated where to put her. Adele felt like hours were passing, and she could feel the curious stares of hundreds of students on her. Finally, to her immense relief, the Hat said, "Well, I do like to take the students' opinion into account. Are you sure then?"

'Yes,' Adele thought firmly.

"Very well, then. GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat shouted to the rest of the Great Hall.

The Gryffindor table burst into applause, but it was punctuated by whispered conversations throughout the Hall.

"I think that's the longest Sorting I've ever seen," Harry said quietly to Ron and Hermione.

"I know! Bloody hell, I'm starving," Ron moaned.

Hermione didn't even bother reprimanding Ron for his language. She was staring at Adele with a calculating expression on her face as she made her way over to them. Adele sat down between Hermione and Seamus Finnegan. The Irish wizard immediately straightened up and began introducing himself, to the envious stares of the rest of the males in the Hall.

Filch took the Sorting Hat and stool away as Professor Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands. "Tuck in!" he announced.

Ron moaned again as hundreds of dishes appeared on the table. Adele thought she saw some drool before he grabbed a chicken leg from the nearest dish and tore into it with indecent enthusiasm.

After watching Ron disgustedly, Hermione turned to Adele and began engaging her in a discussion about classes. It turned out Adele had taken the same O.W.L. exams as the rest of the sixth years in order to be admitted to Hogwarts.

"So, how did you do?" Hermione asked, trying to conceal her curiosity.

"I just got my grades the other day. They were all circles," Adele replied. "I'm not quite sure what that means."

Hermione gasped and Harry felt his jaw drop. "You got all Outstanding's?" she asked in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Adele shrugged.

Harry was flabbergasted. Adele had gotten better grades than Hermione. Hermione! Now, he wasn't sure if Adele and Hermione would get along. He wasn't sure if Hermione could be friends with such competition.

Hermione fell silent and stared at her plate. Adele looked at her nervously before turning to Harry. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could speak, the plates were cleared of desserts and Dumbledore stood up. The Great Hall fell silent as he began to speak.

"To our new students, welcome! And to our old students, welcome back!" he said. He began speaking about school rules, but everyone was distracted by his right hand. It was blackened and dead looking. Whispers broke out among the students but Dumbledore ignored them and shook his sleeve down over his hand. Adele, who had done the exact same thing hundreds of times to hide her scars, wondered what the Professor was hiding.

Dumbledore introduced new members of the staff (one teacher's new post caused Harry and several others to cry out in protest. Adele had no idea why.) He began speaking about Voldemort, whom Adele had heard of vaguely but, frankly, didn't care about. He then dismissed the students with a "pip pip!" and everyone got up from their respective tables.

"Come on, I'll show you to Gryffindor tower," Harry said to Adele.

Adele turned to him with a grateful look-she had no idea where she was going-but then a voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"How chivalrous, Potter," a cold, snide voice said disdainfully. "But the Headmaster wishes to see Miss Evans."

Adele turned to see a professor she had seen at the top table. Professor Dumbledore had introduced him as the new Defense Against the Darks Arts teacher, Professor Snape. Harry had loudly protested this development, she had noticed.

"I will show you to his office," Snape said. Harry tried to control his anger before Snape found an excuse to dock points from Gryffindor before classes even started.

"Of course, sir," Adele said, waving goodbye to Harry as she followed Professor Snape out of the hall. They were both completely silent on the long walk to the Headmaster's office, but Adele swore Professor Snape was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

'I don't know why Harry hates him so much,' Adele thought. 'He doesn't seem that bad.'

They came to a statue of a gargoyle. Snape muttered "Marshmallow puff," to the statue, and it sprang aside to reveal a revolving spiral staircase.

"Go up this staircase and knock on the door at the top," he said coldly to Adele.

"Thank you, sir," she said politely, but he walked away without another word. She continued up the staircase until she came to a heavy wooden door with a brass knocker. She knocked three times and then waited.

* * *

Please read and review. Constructive criticism appreciated!


	4. Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine. Yet.

* * *

"Enter," a voice said from within. Adele gulped noiselessly before opening the door. She found herself in a beautiful office littered with tables, desks, and strange silver instruments. However, Adele barely noticed all of this. She was drawn to a regal phoenix sitting on a perch next to the Headmaster's desk. The girl and phoenix stared at each other until Professor Dumbledore, who was sitting at his desk, chuckled.

"Hello, Miss Evans," he said. "This is Fawkes the phoenix. Strange birds, phoenixes are."

"Yes, sir," Adele breathed, admiring the bird's bright scarlet and gold plumage. Then she remembered her manners and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor. Thank you so much for letting me attend Hogwarts."

Dumbledore looked her over with his bright blue eyes. Adele felt a little discomfited, like he knew her deepest, darkest secrets just by looking at her.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied quietly. "I am sure you will be most welcome here. What do you think of the castle so far?"

"It's amazing," Adele replied honestly. "Much different than my old school."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore sighed. "I heard about the, ahem, events at your previous institute." Adele blushed and looked down.

"But," he continued, "I do wonder about your unusual powers. Would you mind satisfying an old man's curiosity and giving me a demonstration?" Adele sighed but did not say no.

"Yes, sir. Do you have any preferences?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Whatever your favorites are."

Adele got up from her chair and walked to the center of the room. She took a deep breath before dropping to all fours. Before Dumbledore's eyes, her form changed from that of a human girl to a cheetah.

"Fascinating, fascinating," Dumbledore breathed, eying the cheetah with appreciation. Adele heard him and decided to show off just a little bit. With the blink of an eye, she changed from a cheetah to a peacock, then a horse, turtle, polar bear, eagle, and lion in rapid succession before resuming her true form.

"I've seen a lot of gifts in my day," he admitted, "but this has to be one of the most spectacular. Can you only shapeshift?"

"No, sir," Adele replied. "I can communicate with animals telepathically and can heal them."

"Really?" Dumbledore asked interestedly. "Can you hear Fawkes right now?"

"Well, I can close my mind to it. But I'll open it now to see if I can hear him." Adele closed her eyes. She concentrated and stepped through a barrier in her mind. All at once, she could hear thousands of animals, from the owls in the Owlery to unidentified presences in the Forbidden Forest. She concentrated on Fawkes and felt something land heavily on her knee. When she opened her eyes, she saw Fawkes had flown to her and perched on her leg.

'Good evening, Fawkes,' she thought respectfully.

'Hello, young one,' he said to Adele solemnly. 'I would like you to tell Albus that Professor Slughorn has the memories he needs.'

'Of course, sir,' she thought. 'I'm going to close my mind now, if that's all right.'

'Yes, child. But do come back for a visit,' Fawkes replied.

Adele smiled as she withdrew behind the barrier in her mind once more. Thankfully, she no longer heard the voices of animals in her head. Fawkes flew back to his post beside Dumbledore.

"Fawkes has something to say to you, Professor," Adele said. "He says that Professor Slughorn has the memories you need."

Adele was interested to see Dumbledore's face tighten. She had no idea what that meant, but she could tell it was something very important to the Headmaster.

"Thank you very much, Miss Evans," he said. "I do believe it's time for us to retire. It has been a long day, has it not?"

At that point, Adele had been yawning. "Yes, sir," she said. "Goodnight." She turned to the door and had her hand on the handle before Dumbledore stopped her.

"You truly have amazing powers," he said. "But I don't think all of our students would quite understand them. It would be better if you just kept them to yourself for now." Adele nodded her agreement and left his office. She made her way down the staircase before she realized she had absolutely no idea where Gryffindor tower was. She was about to turn back to the gargoyle statue and head back up to Professor Dumbledore's office when she heard footsteps around the corner. A girl with the same flaming red hair as Ron pranced down the hallway toward her.

"Hi!" the girl said. "I'm Ginny. You're Adele Evans, right? I saw you being Sorted. Well, who could miss it? It took forever!"

Adele was speechless. This girl had way too much energy and Adele was too tired to completely understand what was coming out of her mouth.

"Hi," Adele said after a moment's hesitation. "Are you in Gryffindor as well?"

"Oh yes!" Ginny said. "Do you need some help finding the Common Room?"

"That would be great," she sighed in relief. Ginny led her around the corner, chatting the whole way.

"You might have met my brother, Ron?" she asked.

"I probably should have guessed you two were related," Adele laughed, thinking of their flaming hair. She hesitated for a moment before leaning in and saying, "Your brother doesn't have very good table manners."

Ginny giggled and said, "Do me a favor. Whack him upside the head next time he eats like a pig." Ginny had an infectious laugh and Adele couldn't help chuckling with her.

They stopped in front of a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said imperiously, looking down her nose at them.

"Phoenix feather," Ginny replied. Adele smiled at the ironic choice. The portrait swung forward, revealing a large common room filled with comfy arm chairs and sofas, all in the Gryffindor scarlet and gold. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the far end of the room near the roaring fireplace. They were talking and laughing as Adele made her way over to them.

"Hey guys," she said as she reached them.

"Hey," they greeted her.

Hermione stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, I was just off to bed. Want me to show you the dormitory, Adele?" she asked.

"Yes, thanks," Adele said. "'Night Harry, Ron."

"Goodnight," the boys said in unison.

Hermione led her up a spiral staircase until they reached the room for sixth year girls. They entered, and Adele was pleased to see a four poster bed hung with velvet curtains waiting for her. Her trunk was at the foot of her bed already, and Adele immediately changed into her pajamas and sunk into bed. It had been a long day.

Hermione got into bed as well. Crookshanks, who had been sleeping in his basket next to Hermione's bed, jumped into Adele's bed. Without opening her eyes, she began stroking his head. 'Are you even 100 cat?' she asked him silently.

"Nope," he replied smugly. "I'm half Kneazle."

Adele smiled and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Please read and review. Constructive criticism appreciated!


	5. Meeting with Malfoy

The next morning Adele and Hermione met Harry and Ron in the Common Room. They headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They were almost there when the step Adele was on suddenly vanished beneath her foot. With a cry, her leg sunk into the staircase to above her knee.

"Crap!" she seethed. It _hurt_!

Harry and Ron grabbed her under the arms and pulled her out. "You'll want to watch out for the trick steps," Harry said.

"Really?" Adele asked sarcastically.

Hermione giggled and they continued on to the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table and Ron began gobbling up all the food in site. Adele was about to whack his head like Ginny suggested but was saved from having to do so by Ginny herself. As she walked behind Ron she smacked the back of his head.

"What was that for?" Ron asked indignantly.

"For eating like a pig, Ronald. Imagine what Mum would say," Ginny said teasingly. Ron glared at her but straightened up and began eating in a more polite manner.

"Hey, Gin," Harry greeted her.

"Hello, everyone," Ginny said. "Has McGonagall handed out the schedules yet?"

"No," Hermione said worriedly. "I do hope I get cleared for everything!"

"'Mione, stop worrying," Ron muttered.

Hermione's heated reply was cut off by the arrival of the owl post. Most students were getting more letters than usual these days; concerned parents wanted to hear from their children and vice versa. What was different, however, was that after the owls dropped off their post, they flew to Adele. The entire Hall fell silent as she was swarmed with hundreds of owls. Adele blushed crimson as two owls perched on her shoulder and one perched on her head.

'Thank you for your kind welcome, but you have to go! You're scaring your owners!' she thought to them. The owls knew she was right and flew out of the Hall. Adele raised her head to see all the students and the teachers staring at her.

"I told you animals liked me," she mumbled.

Harry laughed nervously before turning to Ginny and starting up a random conversation about Quidditch. Everyone took his cue and resumed their conversations, but people kept on glancing on Adele. She squared her shoulders, refusing to look embarrassed.

Hermione wondered what Adele was hiding. She had noticed the scars on her arms and the way Crookshanks had taken to her. And now the owls? One thing was for sure: a visit to the library was in order.

Professor McGonagall descended from the head table to distribute schedules. It was more difficult than usual for the sixth years because she first had to verify that everybody had the necessary O.W.L. grades. Harry and Ron continued with D.A.D.A., Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Potions.

"And, Potter, here is the list of hopefuls for the Quidditch team. As Captain, you may choose trials at your leisure," she added. Adele made a mental note to put her name on the list.

Professor McGonagall came to Adele's side. "I see you haven't put in an application yet, Miss Evans," she said. With a look at Adele's O.W.L. grades, she added, "But your O.W.L.s will allow you to take any classes you choose. I would suggest you take Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and Ancient Runes. Would that be all right with you?"

"Yes, thank you, Professor," Adele replied. She and Hermione headed to their first-period Ancient Runes class together.

"So, Hermione," Adele started, trying to make small talk. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Hermione blushed but said, "No, I don't. No one has caught my eye."

Suddenly, a voice from behind them sneered, "Yeah, right, Mudblood. Like any guy would go for you."

Adele had no idea what "Mudblood" meant but assumed it was an insult. They turned to see Draco Malfoy behind them, for once without his usual cronies.

"Sod off, Malfoy," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Language, Granger," he laughed, wagging his finger at her. Abruptly, he turned to Adele and asked, "What's your blood status?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean by that," she replied coolly.

"I _mean_, are you pureblood?"

"Does it matter if I am? Hermione has befriended me without bothering to find out," Adele said in an aloof tone.

"Don't mess with me, Evans," he spat, moving closer to them. "I know magic you wouldn't even dream of."

Adele couldn't help it. She snorted. She sincerely doubted this Malfoy boy could do half of what she could do. But apparently, laughing at him was the wrong thing to do. His face flushed and he grabbed her right wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Adele said in a disinterested tone. "Let go of me."

"I don't think so. What are you going to do, Mudblood? Laugh at me? My magical abilities are not something to take lightly," he threatened.

Her blue-green eyes locked with his light gray ones. She brought her other hand up to rest on his arm. "Let go, please," she said quietly.

"No," Malfoy sneered.

"Alright, I warned you." Thinking of Crookshanks, Adele reshaped her fingernails into cat claws and drew her nails down his skin. Four bleeding gash marks appeared. Draco hissed in pain and dropped his arm. "You think that's funny, Mudblood?" he said. "You haven't seen the last of me."

Hermione watched with wide eyes as he stalked off. She had never seen anyone handle Malfoy like that, and to tell the truth, she was quite impressed. Adele had gotten rid of Malfoy without so much as drawing her wand. But she had made a new enemy already, and if Harry's suspicions about Malfoy were right, Adele was in trouble. Hermione put that to the back of her mind and congratulated Adele.

"Thanks for getting rid of him," she said.

"No problem," Adele said, glaring in the direction Malfoy had gone. "I do not like that guy."

"Not many people do. But come on, we're going to be late for Ancient Runes."


End file.
